Hooked Up: August 2022

Here we are. Hottest month of the year and probably my least favorite to be on the water. To ease the burden, I had a shoulder surgery in July to give me a good excuse to stay inside and away from the devil’s breath. 

I guess one of the few good things about August, for me, is that September is right around the corner and that means bird hunting with friends and lots of good times. Another August positive is greatly reduced boat traffic. Many folks are busy getting kids back in school, can’t stand the heat, or just had a gut full from all the prior days on the water. I don’t mean for this to sound completely negative; there are still plenty of trout to be caught in the wee hours for those that are serious and will commit to a very early start.

Traditionally, we would have giant schools of reds to pursue right now, and we may yet, but the flotillas of high-drive burn boats (not all) seem to keep them scattered and spooky from the crash and burn technique that has become the new normal for “red fishing”. Although the redfish are a lot spookier in this new environment, they are still out there. One just has to be a little stealthier and think outside the old normal to catch them consistently. Personally, I really miss those easy catches, especially on these hot days of August. 

After the freeze last year, just about everyone I know was all in on conservation and releasing most every trout. That turned out to be mostly tongue and cheek, I guess. When that yellow flag at the bait stands started waving, a great number lost all sense of what’s best for the fishery and opted for the stringer shots at the marina to bump the ego. It’s been pretty discouraging to watch, as these are the same guys that are making a living off a public resource. Maybe I’m missing something, but seems to me that if those trout are the source of my future income, I would do all I could do to conserve them. What are you going to sell when there is no longer a viable resource to target?

With reduced limits for nearly two years, we have been given a real opportunity to do some good and “right the ship”. Too many, way too many, are caught up in bragging rights for a few hours of social media glory that is being traded for what needs to be done for the future of the trout fishery in the Upper Laguna and Baffin Bay. I remember a few adults in my youth telling me, “Grow up, not everything is about you.” I think there are lots of fishermen that must never have heard that or have yet to understand it. 

Low tides and deep rocks have been a great summer pattern for me for longer than I can remember. It’s some of the easiest Baffin fishing you can possibly do, as it is so easy to visualize. What I mean by that is schools of mullet taking refuge on rock piles is about as easy to spot as a blinking red light. Fishing the edges of the schools and rocks produces strikes more often than not. Making long wades in areas that have scattered rock piles can and will provide hours of entertainment during this heat. Of course, I’m searching for trout, but we commonly run into cruising schools of reds and black drum in the process. Drum are a big bonus on this deep structure as solid to big trout routinely cruise with them, picking off all the critters the drum spook up. This is a pattern that I routinely go to after a first light wade on something skinny. The late Doug Bird was a master of this type of fishing, but from the boat. He looked like Bill Dance out there working that trolling motor and wearing out the edges of rock piles like an old bass fisherman (which he was). RIP Doug!

Three lures are all I need in the rocks. MirrOlure Dog series topwaters, 5” Bass Assassins rigged on 1/16oz 2/0 jigheads, and a floater-diver such as the Double D by Texas Custom Lures. One of those three will get it done on the rocks!

Remember the buffalo!  -Capt David Rowsey